This Fig Almond Cake is one of my favorite ways to enjoy seasonal figs. This cake is made with a combination of spelt and almond flours. It is lightly sweetened with organic cane sugar, honey, cinnamon and cardamom.
I’ve always loved the combination of almonds and figs. It must be something about the nutty almond flavor which pairs well with the subtle sweetness of figs.
I love almond flour because of its delicious flavor and obvious health benefits. It is one of my favorite nuts. You will find it as a common ingredient in many of my recipes. However, the main reason I use it in abundance is because it is the only nut that my daughter who has a tree nut allergy can safely eat.
This past year, she outgrew her allergy to almonds, a big victory for our family. Which meant that yes, we could eat almonds again. It also meant, that we MUST eat almonds again! When your body fights a host of foods and considers them poison, the foods that were once an allergen, now tolerable should be eaten regularly to avoid becoming an allergen.
Since my daughter is allergic to all other tree nuts, we purchase our almonds from an almond only facility in an effort to minimize the risk of cross contamination with other nuts. Luckily, Barney Butter is one of the few facilities that offers a wide range of almond only products.
This recipe is inspired and adapted by the classic David Tanis, “Fig and Almond Cake”. I’ve swapped out the all purpose flour with a healthier spelt flour which provides a more rustic version. I love using olive oil in baking. The use of a mild oil instead of butter imparts a delicate flavor which pairs nicely with the flavor of fresh figs. I added a few extra touches such as cardamom, vanilla and lemon zest. Lastly, I cut the amount of sweetener so that the natural flavor of the figs can shine on their own.
I also used a combination of Kadota and Black Mission figs although you could solely use Black Mission. I just couldn’t resist the variety of colors at the market. A sprinkle of turbinado sugar on the tops of each fig helps to caramelize them as they bake. A light sprinkle of crushed, slivered almonds adds some texture.
I hope you enjoy this cake. It is visually pleasing and deliciously moist with jammy pockets of fig in every bite. Most important, it is very easy to make and perfectly acceptable to eat for breakfast/ brunch, dessert or as a snack with tea or coffee.
Fig Almond Cake
Free from: sesame, dairy, peanuts, soy. Vegetarian. Gluten Free option( *See notes)
Adapted from: David Tanis, NYT Cooking
Serving: One 9-inch cake
- 1 1/4 c almond flour
- 1/4 c spelt flour ( or almond flour to make gluten free)
- 1/4 c organic cane sugar
- turbinado sugar for sprinkling tops of figs
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 eggs, beaten one at a time
- 4 tbl olive oil
- 1 tbl honey (I used orange blossom honey)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp crushed slivered almonds for scattering on top
- 12-14 small ripe fresh figs, halved, any variety
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 9-inch fluted tart pan or pie pan by greasing sides and bottom with butter or oil.
In a small bowl, add sugar. Using a microplane, zest lemon. Crumble zest and sugar together with fingers until combined, creating lemon sugar. This process helps release natural oils from the zest, increasing flavor. Set aside.
In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. Whisk in lemon zest/sugar mixture. Set aside.
In a separate medium size mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, olive oil, honey and vanilla extract. Add the almond flour mixture and whisk until batter is smooth. Pour and spread batter evenly into pan.
Remove stems from figs. Cut in half and arrange fig halves, closely together cut side up, on top of batter. Sprinkle each fig with turbinado sugar. Sprinkle cake with crushed slivered almonds.
Bake for about 22-25 minutes, or until golden brown on outside and dry at center when a toothpick is inserted. Don’t worry, this cake is meant to be golden brown. My cake was done at 24 minutes. You may need more or less baking time, just keep an eye on it as all ovens cook at different speeds.
If using a fluted tart pan, bake on a sheet pan for easier handling. Cool for 20 minutes. If desired, dust with powdered sugar on top, whipped cream or coconut cream on the side. It also tastes great with creme fraiche or a drizzle of yogurt.
Notes:
- Substitute 1/4 cup almond flour for spelt flour to make the cake gluten free.
- Use small fresh figs only ( not dried). Heavy large figs will not hold well and sink when baked. Dried figs will change the consistency of this cake.